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ysenia

Opinion Journal: Iran's Nuclear Deal Full of Holes - 0 views

www.wsj.com/...39-453C-BC34-23779E9EA253.html

iran deal politics America

shared by ysenia on 23 Mar 16 - No Cached
  • ysenia on 23 Mar 16
     
    Iran Nuclear Deal is filled with loop-hole phrases that allows Iran to technically make nuclear missiles. Ambassador John Bolton states that the plan was a complete failure and one of the better options would to essentially start over when the next president is sworn in.
atownen

Post owner Jeff Bezos flies reporter Jason Rezaian to U.S. after Iran release - The Was... - 0 views

www.washingtonpost.com/...5-bcda-62a36b394160_story.html

iran negotiation talks release

shared by atownen on 27 Jan 16 - No Cached
  • atownen on 27 Jan 16
     
    After 18 months, 39-yr old reporter Jason Rezaian was released after 18 months of solitary confinement in Iran's Evil Prison. Rezaian and three other American detainees in Iran were released in exchange for clemency for 7 Iranians charged or imprisoned in the U.S. + dismissal of charges against 14 Iranians outside the U.S. Iran got 7 "guys back" essentially plus lift of charges against 14, while U.S. only had 4 detainees return home?
cguybar

Egypt court bans Muslim Brotherhood's political wing - BBC News - 0 views

www.bbc.com/...world-middle-east-28722935

muslim brotherhood banned court wing

shared by cguybar on 09 Feb 16 - No Cached
  • cguybar on 09 Feb 16
     
    This article gives some insight as to why the group has been banned from participating in parliamentary elections in Egypt. The Brotherhood was deemed a terrorist group partially due to their involvement in violent demonstrations all through out Egypt. Though the brotherhood denied it, the government has enough evidence to deem them terrorist and essentially destroy their power in government.
petergrossmanseu

WWII Weapons In The Syrian Civil War - The Firearm Blog - 0 views

www.thefirearmblog.com/...eapons-in-the-syrian-civil-war

WWII weapons Syria

shared by petergrossmanseu on 10 Feb 16 - No Cached
  • petergrossmanseu on 10 Feb 16
     
    An article from the firm's blog talking about World War II weapons being used in the Syrian Civil War. I found both the article and accompanying video very interesting. Besides showing a bunch of very old weapons being used and the essentially finding new life in this conflict, it also shows a government stockpile seized by rebels full of Stg 44s (assault rifles from Nazi Germany). For me this raises the question of how did they get there?
ralph0

As Syria Devolves Further, Allies Criticize American Policy - The New York Times - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...ayyip-erdogan-syria-kurds.html

syria policy war turkey erdogan pkk kurds

shared by ralph0 on 10 Feb 16 - No Cached
  • ralph0 on 10 Feb 16
     
    It really frustrates me that the US is often very outspoken about rights, freedom and democracy. Yet time and time again, I have seen that politics are nothing more than a pursuit of interests. The US continues its "ambiguity" of action in Syria, essentially furthering the spread of chaos. Now Turkey, and important US ally is frustrated that the US has been siding with alleged Kurdish terrorist groups.
mcooka

Cost-Sharing: A Threat to Higher Education in Morocco - 0 views

www.moroccoworldnews.com/...to-higher-education-in-morocco

education morocco middle east higher

shared by mcooka on 07 Apr 16 - No Cached
  • Cost-sharing is a “shift of the burden of higher education costs from being totally borne by the government or the taxpayer, to being shared with parents and students”
  • After the introduction of the open access policy, which guarantees education for all as one of the tenets of social justice, the pressure of student numbers that result from population growth led the government to introduce more stringent selection procedures
  • After the introduction of the open access policy, which guarantees education for all as one of the tenets of social justice, the pressure of student numbers that result from population growth led the government to introduce more stringent selection procedures
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • Cost-sharing is a “shift of the burden of higher education costs from being totally borne by the government or the taxpayer, to being shared with parents and students”
  • This raises the  question, to what extent can this cost-sharing policy preserve equity in enrollment and improve the quality of higher education in Morocco? The obvious answer is that this policy is causing more harm to Moroccan higher education.
  • mcooka on 07 Apr 16
     
    Morocco is starting to shift the burden of paying for higher education from the government onto the families attending through "cost sharing". This is essentially harmful to the quality of education in Morocco as the costs of education going up. Now students who earn grants and scholarships are going to be more regulated to prove their worth is here.
cthomase

Generals fear Benghazi 2 in Libya - 1 views

www.wnd.com/...erals-fear-benghazi-2-in-libya

ISIS Politics war Libya UN

shared by cthomase on 04 Feb 16 - No Cached
  • cthomase on 04 Feb 16
     
    One thing I'm starting to get from the various bookmarks I'm posting is that the world seems to be very afraid of doing anything in Libya. After the Benghazi attack that killed our ambassador, the world has largely ignored what's been occurring in Libya. There's been essentially no government, regional neighbors are afraid of ISIS, the world doesn't want to get involved and now we're up to more of a mess than we started with.
nicolet1189

Inside The Chilling Online World Of The Women Of ISIS - 0 views

www.buzzfeed.com/...ine-world-of-the-women-of-isis

Isis women terrorism Islamists extremists

shared by nicolet1189 on 14 Sep 14 - No Cached
  • women of ISIS appear to have established networks across social media platforms, which they use to connect with one another and recruit other women.
  • Interested parties are directed to online guides with step-by-step instructions on how to get to ISIS-controlled territory — including advice on how to deceive Turkish customs agents.
  • of the most active women of ISIS on social media claim to be UK citizens.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • Marriage to a fighter is essentially a requirement for all women who join ISIS.
  • forbidden from engaging in armed comba
  • many of these new brides are soon widowed (and remarrie
  • women of ISIS use social media to glorify the group’s horrific “victories”.
  • use Twitter to mock journalists
  • I am more then confident that no one in dawlah fears US invasion in fact we are all pretty excited more shuhadah and more slaying kuffar
  • "Here in Iraq we welcome America with our weapons
  • nicolet1189 on 14 Sep 14
     
    The author of this article was on NPR Friday discussing the women of Isis and their use of social media. The author stated that whole social media accounts of these women are constantly shut down, they operate several accounts at all times to ensure they spread their message.
fcastro2

UN, Russia take lead in Syria diplomacy - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East - 0 views

www.al-monitor.com/...n-russia-syrian-diplomacy.html

shared by fcastro2 on 28 Apr 15 - No Cached
  • Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Egypt on Feb. 9-10 signals a “new phase” in Russian diplomacy in the Middle East.
  • Despite deteriorating ties with the United States and NATO countries over Ukraine, Maxim Suchkov writes, "Russia is anything but isolated, while Europe is no longer the promised land for the state that seeks recognition of its global influence."
  • Egypt and Russia have “shared positions on a number of regional issues; closely aligned interests (particularly on fighting international terrorism); a successful track record of bilateral cooperation on various fronts; and a strong personal bond of trust between respective leaders.”
  • ...12 more annotations...
  • Egypt’s leadership has grown frustrated with US admonitions and criticisms of its governance record, and from Cairo’s perspective, bewildering discussions of conditions on US military aid
  • Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is hardly ready to ditch his country’s long-standing ties to the United States, the prospect of Russian arms and assistance could prove a useful complement to what some in Cairo consider more uncertain US support, especially as Egypt faces an ongoing terrorist insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula.
  • Naumkin adds th
  • Russia also considers Egypt an ally in its efforts to broker a political settlement in Syria
  • as a result of the Russian president’s visit to Cairo, the parties might agree to pool their forces in the context of a Syrian settlement.
  • It might be understandable for some analysts to dismiss the Moscow conference, given the diplomatic false starts over four years in a conflict that has left more than 150,000 dead, 7.6 million displaced, 3.2 million refugees, 12.2 million in need of humanitarian assistance and at least 680,000 injured, according to the United Nations.
  • Syrian opposition figures were not allowed to participate in the Jan. 26-29 Moscow conference as representatives of opposition parties, such as the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces (SOC), the leading umbrella group based in Turkey
  • The absence of the SOC and other representatives of the external opposition no doubt limited the potential impact of the conference,
  • Participants agreed to an 11-point list of “Moscow Principles” and a four-point “Appeal to the International Community” affirming the need to fight terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State (IS), rejecting outside interference and calling for increased humanitarian aid, while agreeing to meet again in a month’s time.
  • acknowledged the possibility for other organizations to play a role in future talks
  • Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vigorously supported the law, claiming its passage is essential in defending democracy
  •  “Success tempted the AKP, prompting it to revert back to its Islamism and initiate a much more ambitious narrative of building a new regional order, and even a new global order. Meanwhile, Erdogan turned into an unquestionable leader who is not limited by facts and creates his own facts, as envisioned by his Islamist ideology and extraordinary intuition. In the eyes of his hard-core supporters, he is not a mere political leader who formulates pragmatic policies. He is a total leader who redefines everything.”
micklethwait

Life, Death, and War in Post-2003 Iraq | Warscapes - 0 views

www.warscapes.com/...e-death-and-war-post-2003-iraq

life death war iraq Sinan Antoon Corpse Washer

shared by micklethwait on 30 May 14 - No Cached
  • Antoon is also keen to complicate conventional notions of life in Baghdad after 2003. Many foreign narratives of post-war Iraq emphasize ethnic and sectarian divisions as essential groups of categorization by the Iraqi people. By following Jawad’s story, which begins long before the invasion, we can see that Antoon addresses sectarianism, but in ways that counter common sectarian narratives. One example is that of Jawad’s work. In a jarring scene, two Sunni men come into Jawad’s business. Jawad is a Shia and generally washes other Shia men. Death rituals differ slightly between sects. The two men present Jawad with a burned corpse of a Shia man who had been killed in a car bomb. For days his body sat outside the wreckage, so the men decided to collect the corpse for washing. “God bless you. There are still good people in this world,” is all that Jawad replies. This emotional sense of togetherness, despite the admission that the car bomb was an act of sectarian violence, shows that in chaotic times such lines are not as clear as they are made out to be.
    • micklethwait
      micklethwait on 30 May 14
       
      Interesting passage on perspective taking and the legacies of conflict.
fcastro2

The U.S. Needs to Rethink Its Anti-ISIS Approach in Syria | TIME - 0 views

time.com/...u-s-anti-isis-campaign-syria

ISIS syria politics US strategy

shared by fcastro2 on 09 Mar 15 - No Cached
  • As a result, morale among nationalist fighters in northern Syria has plummeted
  • ISIS remains essentially unchallenged in its heartland in northern Syria, despite repeated U.S. air strikes
  • In the south, nationalists have fared better at keeping ISIS out and Jabhat al Nusra in check, partly due to a coherent, rational U.S.-led support program operating covertly out of Jordan
  • ...14 more annotations...
  • A strategy to beat the jihadists and make sure they stay beaten must be locally-driven, led by nationalist forces supported by the Sunni population that forms the insurgency’s social base.
  • The U.S.-led air campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) has scored some points in Syria, weakening ISIS’s oil infrastructure and revenues and keeping the group out of Kobane
  • the promised U.S. train-and-equip program is unlikely to reverse the nationalists’ losses or jihadists’ gains in northern Syria
  • air strikes alone, and treating nationalist groups as agents rather than partners, violates this principle
  • , the U.S. has helped nationalists in the south avoid the fragmentation, infighting, and lawlessness that weakened them and benefited the jihadists in northern Syria
  • ISIS offers conquered populations the choice between submission – which brings a sense of order and some protection from regime violence – or futile resistance and death
  • Jabhat al Nusra has driven nationalist forces out of much of their core territory in northern Syria, and ISIS continues to threaten those that remain
  • Even if the coalition wants to avoid confronting regime forces, it can and should concentrate air strikes closer to ISIS’s front lines with the nationalist insurgency, helping the latter block ISIS advances in cooperation with local Kurdish forces when possible
  • the United States has excluded them from the coalition military effort
  • , U.S. interests would be better served by a two-pronged approach in northern and southern Syria, helping nationalist rebels contain ISIS and compete with Jabhat al Nusra for control of the insurgency.
  • U.S. airstrikes on jihadists have spared the regime’s forces and inadvertently killed Syrian civilians
  • that Sunni Muslims are under siege by oppressive regional minorities, Iran, and even the United States itself
  • Ironically, the coalition campaign has contributed to the near-collapse of nationalist forces in northern Syria who, despite their imperfections, were ISIS’s most effective rivals and competed with Jabhat al Nusra for leadership of the insurgency
  • campaign has had serious local side effects that have undermined the broader, long-term objective of degrading and destroying ISIS in Syria and preventing the Al Qaeda affiliate, Jabhat al Nusra, from replacing or thriving alongside ISIS
  • fcastro2 on 09 Mar 15
     
    The U.S. should no long really solely on air-strikes to bring down the ISIS group in Syria but it needs other strategic plans. They need to work with the people in Syria and gain their support and trust in order to defeat ISIS.
klweber2

Egypt chief editors pledge support for state institutions - Politics - Egypt - Ahram On... - 0 views

english.ahram.org.eg/...114013.aspx

egyptian media freedom

shared by klweber2 on 09 Nov 14 - No Cached
  • stop publishing "statements undermining state institutions"
  • major deadly attacks on security forces in Sinai.
  • ejection of attempts to doubt state institutions or insult the army or police or judiciary in a way that would reflect negatively on these institutions' performance,"
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • no longer publish statements "supportive of terrorism or that undermine state institutions directly or indirectly."
  • support" for all procedures the government
  • "total confidence" in state institutions
  • 30 security forces were killed in two attacks
  • media
  • essential role against any attempts at undermining state policies. 
  • klweber2 on 09 Nov 14
     
    This is an article from ahramonline that discusses how newspapers are supporting the government and censoring certain topics. This article briefly illustrates the restrictions on freedom of speech in Egypt. 
mpatel5

Britain vows 'significant' support for Syrian opposition - 0 views

english.alarabiya.net/...rt-for-Syrian-opposition-.html

Britain Syria Revolution President Bashar al-Assad

shared by mpatel5 on 11 Nov 14 - No Cached
  • mpatel5 on 11 Nov 14
     
    Britain will make "a significant contribution" to equip and train the moderate Syrian opposition to defeat both Islamic State extremists and the Damascus regime of President Bashar al-Assad, its foreign secretary said on Monday. Secretary of Foreign Affairs made a statement,"The UK is helping the opposition establish security and governance, and to deliver essential services. This includes life-saving search and rescue training, helping Syrians whose homes have been reduced to rubble by the regime's bombs."
wmulnea

BBC News - Falling oil prices: Who are the winners and losers? - 0 views

www.bbc.com/...business-29643612

shared by wmulnea on 13 Feb 15 - No Cached
  • The reasons for this change are twofold - weak demand in many countries due to insipid economic growth, coupled with surging US production. Added to this is the fact that the oil cartel Opec is determined not to cut production as a way to prop up prices.
  • Russia loses about $2bn in revenues for every dollar fall in the oil price,
  • Russia has confirmed it will not cut production to shore up oil prices.
  • ...12 more annotations...
  • Venezuela is one of the world's largest oil exporters, but thanks to economic mismanagement it was already finding it difficult to pay its way even before the oil price started falling.
  • Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter and Opec's most influential member, could support global oil prices by cutting back its own production, but there is little sign it wants to do this.
  • There could be two reasons - to try to instil some discipline among fellow Opec oil producers, and perhaps to put the US's burgeoning shale oil and gas industry under pressure.
  • Saudi Arabia needs oil prices to be around $85 in the longer term, it has deep pockets with a reserve fund of some $700bn - so can withstand lower prices for some time.
  • were to force some higher cost producers
  • In the 1980s the country did cut production significantly in a bid to boost prices, but it had little effect and it also badly affected the Saudi economy.
  • Saudi Arabia, Gulf producers such as the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have also amassed considerable foreign currency reserves, which means that they could run deficits for several years if necessary.
  • Islamic State, capturing oil wells. It is estimated it is making about $3m a day through black market sales - and undercutting market prices by selling at a significant discount - around $30-60 a barrel.
  • "The growth of oil production in North America, particularly in the US, has been staggering," says Columbia University's Jason Bordoff.
  • It has been this growth in US energy production, where gas and oil is extracted from shale formations using hydraulic fracturing or fracking, that has been one of the main drivers of lower oil prices.
  • "Shale has essentially severed the linkage between geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East, and oil price and equities," says Seth Kleinman, head of energy strategy at Citi.
  • With Europe's flagging economies characterised by low inflation and weak growth, any benefits of lower prices would be welcomed by beleaguered governments. A 10% fall in oil prices should lead to a 0.1% increase in economic output, say some. In general consumers benefit through lower energy prices, but eventually low oil prices do erode the conditions that brought them about.
cthomase

Libya's North African neighbors brace for any Western strikes - 0 views

www.reuters.com/...s-libya-security-idUSKCN0VR202

ISIS war revolution Libya

shared by cthomase on 18 Feb 16 - No Cached
  • cthomase on 18 Feb 16
     
    With increased chatter about Western powers potentially leading an air campaign to rid Libya of ISIS, Libya's neighbors are beginning to brace for a potential influx in Libyan refugees. They are tightening border crossings, sending diplomats out of Libya and warning it's citizens to essentially brace for impact.
cthomase

IS is cashing in on Libya's power vacuum - 1 views

www.thehindu.com/...article8327985.ece

ISIS war politics libya

shared by cthomase on 09 Mar 16 - No Cached
  • cthomase on 09 Mar 16
     
    This op-ed piece by the Hindu, an Indian publication, states the obvious that has been discussed in my blog posts and bookmarks for weeks. It describes how ISIS, due to the relentless bombing campaign in Iraq and Syria, has taken advantage of a weak government in Libya and has begun to move its operations to areas of Libya essentially free from the watchful eyes of Western forces.
aacosta8

Egypt's New Terrorism Law - 0 views

www.atlanticcouncil.org/...egypt-s-new-terrorism-law

Law Terrorism Egypt

shared by aacosta8 on 29 Mar 16 - No Cached
  • aacosta8 on 29 Mar 16
     
    The Atlantic Council promotes constructive leadership and engagement in international affairs based on the central role of the Atlantic Community in meeting global challenges. Founded in 1961, the Council provides an essential forum for navigating the dramatic shifts in economic and political influence that are shaping the twenty-first century by educating and galvanizing its uniquely influential, nonpartisan network of international political, business, and intellectual leaders.
mportie

Two-Factor Authentication Phishing From Iran - 0 views

citizenlab.org/...iran_two_factor_phishing

Iran US hack cyber Google

shared by mportie on 06 Apr 16 - No Cached
  • mportie on 06 Apr 16
     
    A new method to bypass G-mail's two step authentication is being implemented by Iranian hackers. Essentially it is a very active method of phishing in which the Iran hackers monitor a phone while triggering password verification. This puts everyone at risk and not just state actors or significant public figures.
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